The proof-of-work for new coin generation also powers the network to prevent double-spending.

Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System

Abstract.

A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without the burdens of going through a financial institution.

Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network.

The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power.

As long as honest nodes control the most CPU power on the network, they can generate the longest chain and outpace any attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcasted on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.

The global cryptocurrency mining sector continues to see new developments that will define its evolution in the months and years ahead. In this ongoing maturation, players both new and old are jockeying for a leadership position.

However, this week brings new indications that not all are adapting easily to this reality.

The bitcoin community could soon see another high-profile auction of bitcoins confiscated from users of the now-defunct online black market Silk Road.

Australian law enforcement officials are now in possession of 24,500 bitcoins (worth $9.4m at press time) following the conviction of their original owner, 32-year-old Warrandyte native Richard Pollard. Pollard was given an 11-year prison sentence today after pleading guilty to commercial drug trafficking, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

New Hampshire – the first colony to sever ties from Great Britain – is once again leading the revolution. Along with its centuries-long “Live Free or Die” culture, New Hampshire is becoming a Mecca for digital currency enthusiasts. In just the last few years, Bitcoin experts and entrepreneurs have been eagerly coming to New Hampshire to spread their message. Many Bitcoin users are members of the Free State Project: a cooperative organization encouraging liberty-lovers to migrate to New Hampshire. Members of the Free State Project range from Democrat and Republican Party members to crypto-anarchists, and many in between. As Bitcoin represents an incredible technological advance in the direction of liberty, it should come as no surprise that early Bitcoin movers are invested ideologically as well as financially.

Here are some examples indicating Bitcoin’s growing popularity in the Granite State:

Manchester, New Hampshire, is home to the longest-running weekly Bitcoin meetup in the world (soon to hit 121 weeks). Most meetups number 15 to 25 attendees, with a diverse crowd of families, young professionals, teachers, couriers, programmers, inventors, businessmen and more. They gather to eat and drink, hang out, and especially discuss Bitcoin news, altcoin projects, price speculation, new applications for Bitcoin, and more.

New Hampshire Bitcoin businesses are growing rapidly. The owners and founders of Lamassu, maker of the popular Bitcoin machine, live and work in Manchester. Restaurants, law offices, barber shops, painters, a martial arts studio and many more businesses accept Bitcoin in New Hampshire. According to Coinmap and Wikipedia statistics, there exists one Bitcoin-accepting merchant for every 44,000 of its residents. This is 4.3 times more dense than neighboring Massachusetts, 4.8 times more dense than the state of New York, 2.5 times more dense than Texas, 2.9 times more dense than California, and 2.6 times more dense than Florida.

The Free State Project, which has been accepting Bitcoin since 2011, holds two annual events: Liberty Forum, which is held in the winter, and the Porcupine Freedom Festival (Porcfest), which is held in the summer. Both Liberty Forum and Porcfest are Bitcoin-heavy, featuring large displays of Bitcoin companies such as Blockchain.info, and inviting speakers such as Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, and Erik Voorhees and the Coinapult team. Bruce Fenton, Roger Ver, and Erik Voorhees are all signers of the Free State Project, having pledged to move to New Hampshire once a critical mass of fellow libertarians have signed on as well.

In addition to instances of purely societal growth, New Hampshire politics itself is becoming changed by Bitcoin. Mark Warden, a realtor and New Hampshire state representative, is among the first of the elected officials to solicit and receive Bitcoin donations for political campaigns. After the election, his team subsequently educated the Secretary of State’s office on Bitcoin, including handling it and accounting for it in campaign finance matters. Upcoming candidates in the 2014 election cycle are joining the Bitcoin train, including State House candidates Shem Kellogg and Andre Rosa, among others.

In the gubernatorial race, it’s Andrew Hemingway that is ahead of the curve. In an interview on Follow the Coin, Hemingway explains his position:

…New Hampshire is a state where we have the opportunity to create the exact opposite situation [regarding] things happening in New York. To do that, we need a governor who understands cryptocurrency, who understands the entire technology framework that’s involved around the blockchain, and the potentials there. And to make sure we keep government out of the way, and to stop government from crushing innovation, which it is prone to do. So I am running on a pro-innovation platform and a pro-technology platform; …we’re very forward looking. I think New Hampshire is a state that has a great potential for the crypto market. I’m running for governor to try to push that.

Hemingway has also expressed ideas regarding utilizing blockchain technology within the State apparatus. Paying public contracts or collecting micro-transactional fees could become vastly easier and more transparent with Bitcoin or with a similar decentralized digital currency. An anonymous New Hampshire driver earned a few minutes of fame on reddit for being the first person to pay a parking ticket in Bitcoin through the use of Brawker.

As Bitcoin use becomes contested or prohibited in other areas of the world, various States will respond accordingly. Some States – culturally or economically tied to a superpower – will fall in line behind a major decision regarding legality. Others will break from the norm, hoping to attract real innovative value from what the rest of the world has shunned. Certain countries of Europe such as Switzerland have acted this way with regards to privacy and digital freedom; places like Hong Kong or Singapore are seen as oases of economic freedom.

Despite whatever obstacles states place upon Bitcoin use, it will continue to grow. It becomes stronger as more people become familiar with Bitcoin and begin preferring it. While Bitcoin demonstrates that geographical proximity is not required for money to emerge, having a concentrated mass of Bitcoin users accomplishes two related goals: 1) Establish local trade patterns with others using Bitcoin, thus experiencing firsthand living a fiat-free world, and; 2) Acculturate the surrounding members of mass society, such as enshrining Bitcoin protection into law and accelerating merchant adoption. Eventually, as Bitcoin becomes more popular in New Hampshire, it will begin to make inroads in people’s economic lives. They will see Bitcoin down the street and in the newspaper, they will see goods quoted in terms of it, they will hear friends or family talk about it. Over time, this becomes the “new language” for commerce. As Bitcoin begins to shake up the world, it is important for there to be locations and groups of people familiar and accepting of Bitcoin rather than those that choose to fight it. New Hampshire is beginning to look like that place.

It’s the final day of Tribe 4's tenure in Boost VC’s startup accelerator, and things have been busier than ever.

The accelerator, perhaps most famous for its CEO Adam Draper’s promise to fund 100 bitcoin startups by the end of 2017, has been housing 16 bitcoin startups in its San Mateo, California, headquarters since the beginning of July.

Bitreserve, the latest attempt to introduce bitcoin to the mass market, opened for business today. The platform lets users store their bitcoin and convert it to a number of different currencies. It also promises users total transparency in the form of a balance sheet updated in real-time.

The platform has been operating in beta since May, but its promised transparency options have only now become available to users. At launch, a new status page has gone live, detailing Bitreserve's assets and its obligations to its users.

At press time, Bitreserve's assets stood at $166,091 and its obligations were $113,025. According to those figures, it has 103% more assets than obligations.

Vogogo has announced a new partnership with Knox Payments that will enable its future US clients in the digital currency industry to accept payment from any US bank account and to better access commercial banking.

More specifically, the agreement will connect the Calgary-based regulatory and risk compliance specialist to its new partner's USD payments network and domestic banking connections. Vogogo raised $8.5m in funding in August to extend its solutions to new target markets, including the US and Europe.

Coinbase announced today it is adding multi-signature (multisig) features to its Vault product, giving users greater control of their own security.

The regular Vault feature initially launched in July and is aimed at users wishing to store larger amounts of bitcoin in a more secure manner over longer periods, with delayed withdrawals and multiple approvals.

On today's show we're going to be talking about Uber's image problem, the use of sidechains to upgrade Bitcoin, digital identity and the Windhover Principles, and last but certainly not least, Tantiana Moroz joins the show to tell us all about TatianaCoin.

Note: This is the second in a series of short stories highlighting what life will be like being a member of Colony Earth using Permacredits. Ideas for future shorts are welcome.

Sangeeta looked over at the portrait photo hanging on the kitchen wall. All was quiet. Steam rose from the curry she was cooking. She thought of her husband, Sunjib, who had been dead for four years now.

She grew up in Bangalore, the third daughter of a Sudras (the unskilled caste) family, and Sunjib acquired Sangeeta for marriage when she was just fourteen. He too was of the Sudras caste and a lowly farmer himself, which meant Sangeeta's hopes of a rich life were practically inexistent. She would never have a proper income, let alone any medical care for her and her two children, especially after Sunjib took his own life.

Sangeeta tossed more onions into a large pot as it simmered on the industrial stove. Like many farmers in India who were promised bountiful crops and greater yields by corporations like Monsanto, Sunjib had watched as his years of back-breaking work were destroyed by a genetically mofied agricultural apocalypse. Seed prices soared and his meager life savings disappeared in failed harvests. It was too much for him. He had no way to support his family, let alone pay rent for his land, so he sought a new incarnation. He left his wife and kids to fend for themselves, when they had virtually no way of doing so.

Sangeeta chopped up ginger as she thought of the times she had taken her two children scavenging through the large garbage dumps outside Bangalore, shortly after Sunjib's suicide. They were kicked out of their home and forced to seek refuge alongside countless other widows and orphans in the slums that mushroomed near the dumps. With one child strapped to her chest and the other rummaging beside her, she somehow managed to keep them fed.

A child's laughter outside the kitchen window caught Sangeeta's attention as she wiped a tear from her cheek. She added the ginger to the large simmering pot. How things had changed since those dark days!

Sangeeta now lived in a community that she helped found: "Sangeet," meaning music. Hers was a miraculous story. A woman from the United States had come to shoot a film about Sangeeta's neighborhood and the community of widows and their children for a company called Colony Earth. At the first opportunity, Sangeeta asked the woman about Colony Earth. If they could fund a video about her situation, she thought, maybe they could do more.

The young filmmaker engaged in many discussions with Sangeeta over the months she was in Bangalore. Thanks to the help of a translator, what started out as a documentary soon turned into a Kickstarter-style video seeking funding for Sangeeta and her community of widow mothers. They wanted to start a Colony Earth farming village outside Bangalore where she grew up.

The pitch was simple. They needed $120K US to buy a small farming property where they could build the modest housing complex. There would be a central kitchen, a pasture for some goats, and a processing area for the crops. The video showed the riverside land they wanted to buy, as well as footage of a similar completed Colony Earth project with its little houses and cost-effective design. The community of widows loved it when the filmmaker from Colony Earth showed it to them! The video explained how, through working together, the community of women and their children could raise natural (non GMO) crops to actually make a meager living and hopefully even give some donations back to Colony Earth projects.

The video was so real, raw, and effective that the campaign raised well over the required $120K and bought a larger plot of land. They hired workers, bought more goats, and began providing milk to restaurants in Bangalore. Members from Colony Earth even flew out to India to act as consultants and provide yet more support with building the infrastructure.

The Sangeet community outside Bangalore made headlines. Soon enough, it was attracting visitors and actually turning a nice profit. True to the gifting economy ethos, the widows in the community all decided to give a small percentage of their earnings back to the community of Colony Earth that had given them the chance to help themselves.

Sangeeta wiped her hands on her apron as she walked outside and marveled at the thriving community she now lived in. The milking station had rows and rows of goats waiting their turn. The solar panel array powered the simple lighting system, as well as the internet connection and other basics. Water vaporizers were set up all over the property and provided a steady supply of drinking water for the community.

Laughter followed a squad of kids as they went from the gardens to the school house, where they were taught by a Colony Earth member. The teacher waved at Sangeeta, came over and greeted her apologetically.

"Sangeeta," he said in Hindi. "I'm sorry to bother you right now, but I was hoping you might approve the bounty for the teaching I have been doing. I know you're busy and must have forgotten."

Sangeeta clasped her hand over her mouth. "I am so sorry!" She bowed and reached into her back pocket, pulled out her smart phone and clicked the Colony Earth app. Like all the other women in her village, she was now a member-owner of Colony Earth. She checked off the educator bounty she had placed, which had brought the young college student to the Sangeet colony in the first place.

The teacher looked at his phone and saw his payment of 200 Permacredits appear in his crypto wallet. He smiled and hugged her. "Thanks Sangeeta," he said, as he turned around and started coaxing his pupils into their seats. "Settle down, children. Time to learn some math."

This episode was recorded several weeks ago, here is an update from Susanne on the progress they've made in that time.

BITNATION Update, since the day of recording the episode:

A multisig address have been set-up on 3 cold storage devices held by 3 different persons, according to the original 2-phase plan. CounterWallet integration of the multisig address is a challenge as CounterParty is still testing the multisig function for security reasons before releasing it. Its unclear when their security audit will be finalized. In the meanwhile, we will regularly transfer funds to the multisig storage instead. The address is 3KS6AuQbZARSvqnaHoHfL1Xhm3bTLFAzoK

Financial projections can be found here - its currently being circulated within the community of interest, until weve updated the website frontend. Earlier versions of the financials projections had been circulating on our Skype chats and on our Facebook page for about 2 months, for community review and input.The entire website frontend will be updated by the end of next week with an improved sales process interface, team section, business plan, financials, Ambassador section, media section, etc.

Additional updates: After having expanded the imagination of what the blockchain could be used for with our Blockchain Wedding on October 5th, on October 24th we did another amazing event: a live demonstration of the Bitnation BlockchainID in London. It was super exciting! Christopher Ellis developed the concept and we organized the event together. You can watch the video from Crypto World Networks and you can see the tutorial here

The best part of it is that its a very simple process, that people can do even if they dont have a huge amount of tech knowledge -- which is ideal in areas in the developing world where our services are needed the most. As someone whove spent half a decade in that sort of areas, from Afghanistan to Libya, and many other places, as an entrepreneur providing research and analysis of various aspects of governance, I know how sorely practical and voluntary solutions are needed. Which is why our next project is even more exciting: a land registry/ deed pilot. More information will be posted about it on our Facebook and Twitter feed in the following two weeks.

Another upcoming project, is implementing the beta version of Swarmops through our Ambassador Network. Since the start of Bitnation, weve been using Rick Falkvinges Swarm model, outlined in the book Swarmwise Its the same model that was used to build the Pirate Party, which spread to more than 70 different countries -- which is a perfect fit for our Ambassador Network model -- very much one of the core USPs of Bitnaiton. To that end, were also going to integrate the Swarmops program (link here: http://ift.tt/1oIahAy) to empower local entrepreneurs and activists in our network.

If you're a developer, you might be interested in our Coins-for-Commits program. As the platform goes open source in the coming weeks we'd like as much help as possible and you'll earn 10,000LTBc per commit that is accepted. You can find the github repository here, and the current to-do workboard here

BitQuick is challenging USA and Europe to sell their bitcoins by using Bitquick.co.

“We’re calling it the BitQuick challenge,” says Founder Jad Mubaslat. “We’re so confident users will come back, that we’re giving away $10 or 0.03 BTC, whichever is greater, to the first 150 new sellers for the month of October and November. We’re also completely removing withdrawal fees for October and November. You now get paid to sell on BitQuick when you’re a new customer.”

After hearing this offer, I had a few questions for Jad that he gladly answered.

Why would I use Bitquick instead of Coinbase?

While institutional money continues to flow into the Bitcoin space and merchant adoption surges, mainstream adoption still lacks. Consumers have still been left with few options to get in and out of the Bitcoin economy quickly and safely. While there are retail options for consumers, such as Coinbase and Circle, they must wait multiple days and go through tedious verification procedures before being able to trade instantly, and even still there are strict limits to how much users can instantly trade.

With BitQuick, you do not have to set up an account, and buyers receive their coins within 3 hours after paying for their order and uploading a photo of their receipt. Sellers often receive money into their account the same day if their coins are priced reasonably close to current market rates. You also cannot buy or sell any bitcoin through Coinbase without a bank account. Buyers do not even need to have a bank account to buy coins with BitQuick. While our sellers do still need to provide a bank account number, we are now serving the masses of unbanked and underbanked buyers that were previously left with few viable options when it came to purchasing Bitcoin.

Why would I choose to use your service to sell instead of, let’s say, LocalBitcoins?

I will just go ahead and list the reasons for you because there are simply so many:

When consumers want Bitcoin immediately with cash, many find themselves resorting to the Craigslist-style marketplace, LocalBitcoins. The problem with LocalBitcoins is that there is no secure arbitration or consistent guidelines. Scams are rampant, and if you get scammed once when trying to obtain your first Bitcoin, you could easily become deterred away from the process and end up being too afraid to try again. People seem to find themselves more comfortable with using a trusted service that makes sure that each transaction is handled smoothly and safely.

What are you doing to solve these problems within the bitcoin space?

BitQuick is tackling these issues head on by creating a streamlined trading process and by offering local traders consistent, speedy, high quality arbitration. Buyers and sellers never even communicate. At its heart, we function like an escrow service. Users list their Bitcoins for sale, deposit them into a BitQuick escrow address, and wait for the consumer to directly deposit cash into their bank account. Once the buyer sends proof of payment, and we confirm that with the seller, the Bitcoins are released. In this way, BitQuick never handles any cash, and payments are settled instantly for the users. BitQuick was also the first fully transparent Bitcoin exchange:

http://ift.tt/1tHJJRq Anyone can verify BitQuick’s reserves at any time! We’re also working with Xapo to provide sellers with insured deposits and multi-sig escrow addresses soon, which is very exciting. We’re dedicated to building a layer of trust with our customers that many Bitcoin users don’t feel with other services, while at the same time trying to reduce the amount of trust you need to put out there in the first place by providing transparency.

One of our customer testimonials from BitTrust put it perfectly: “What’s really great about this service is that BitQuick acts as an insulating party (or interface) between you and the buyer/seller. Why is this great? Because it removes any hassle or stress that might occur if one had to deal directly with the counterparty (buyer or seller). BitQuick’s staff are excellent at spotting potential issues (read: potential scam attempts or errors) that a regular person might miss if they had to deal direct with the counterparty. This particular aspect is what makes the service stand out from say, a LocalBitcoins. Read a LocalBitcoins forums about the various scams that have been pulled on both buyer and seller alike. Such things don’t happen with BitQuick.co. ”

I heard that you guys were expanding to different continents.

Since we are an escrow service, we can expand our trading platform around the world with little friction. We already have platforms in Taiwan, India, Europe and the Middle East. Countries outside the US need BitQuick even more because those consumers have little, if any, options to buy and sell Bitcoin at the moment, and a great number of them are unbanked. We would like to provide more financial freedom to these local markets by giving consumers easy access to Bitcoin, creating less of a need for them to rely on regional banking systems. By allowing for a simple and safe on/off ramp to the Bitcoin economy around the world, we believe BitQuick can continue to catalyze connecting the global economy through Bitcoin.

We recently launched our viral campaign, which offers buyers 50% off the fee of their next purchase when they share BitQuick via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.

We’ve also made some functional changes to the platform. Buyers now have the option to cancel their buy orders if an accident was made, and sellers can automatically confirm deposits, along with some other small bug fixes. On AltQuick.co, BitsharesX and BitUSD trading have also been introduced. We’re in the heat of developing a quick buy, quick sell option as well, so keep your eyes peeled! This will make using our system even more convenient with the added ability of placing an order within moments, all from our front page.

We’re working to implement bank transfers as well by the end of 2014. While buyers currently must take a quick trip to the local credit union or bank to deposit cash when using the current system, this new feature would allow everything to be done from home if desired.

Tell me more about those free bitcoins you told me about at the beginning of the article.

Of course. To qualify for the free Bitcoins:

– You must use a bank account previously unused on BitQuick.

– You must use either a local credit union, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, PNC Bank, Citibank, TD Bank, or SEPA transfer to qualify.

– Your order must remain priced within 10% of BitFinex last price.

– Your order must remain live for 1 full business day or sell out.

– If you list 1-2.99 BTC you will receive $5 or 0.013 BTC (whichever is greater).

– If you list 3+ BTC you will receive $10 or 0.03 BTC (whichever is greater).

The Bitcoin are sent to whatever address you like, and once you receive your free Bitcoin, you can even withdraw the rest of your sell order free of charge if you like!

What is the oldest video card you own? @ltbharley wants to know, and even got things started by posting an image of a card that I remember owning as well. Check out the thread here and be sure to leave a note about the oldest video card in your collection.

This thread is asking for your thoughts on building a library of documents related to cryptocurrency. Is this something you want to see? Share your opinion.

Do you have any thoughts regarding bitcoin in Africa? This thread is discussing how bitcoin is being used in Africa today and also what the future may hold for the continent as regards crypto.

Do you have any personal experience with the Trezor wallet? Share your opinion here. Tell others about your experience or discuss the Trezor wallet and discuss the security implications.

Are you a developer? Don't forget that Let's Talk Bitcoin has a coins for commits program. This program allows you to make contributions to the source code that powers the LTB site and earn up to 10,000 LTBc for doing so. Be sure to check it out.

That's it for this roundup. Don't forget that the best way to stay in the loop on all of the happenings across the community is to check back often. I'll see you again soon!

A painting depicting bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto sold for 35 BTC (roughly €10,000) at the most recent Inside Bitcoins Conference and Expo in Israel.

Called 'The Eye of God', the work was created by local artist Xania Dorfman and bought by Yoshi Goto, CEO of China-based bitcoin ASIC developer Bitmain. Goto got his first glimpse of the work when setting up his booth at the two-day conference, which ran from 19th to 20th October and included speakers such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and bitcoin developer Peter Todd.

"It was there, and it was tempting," Goto said. "I was thinking if I don't purchase the picture, I wouldn't have a right to make a copy or distribute it. I thought, maybe I was crazy, but I wanted to find a way to use it."

Bitcoin price resilience finally crumbled this week after two weeks of strength following the so-called 'BearWhale' slaying.

The price opened the week at $386, holding steady until mid-week, when it began a steep decline. It closed at $346, shedding $40 over the last seven days.

The bitcoin price deterioration follows a strong rally from $295 on 6th October to a high of $405 about a week later. Trading held steady until this week's drop, even as the wider financial markets tumbled in mid-October.

Welcome to episode number two of The Bitcoin Game. I'm your host, Rob Mitchell. In this episode I talk to Peter Kirby about Factom, a distributed application that functions as a scalable permanent system of record. We also talk about the Texas Bitcoin Conference, and finally, discuss the price and value of Bitcoin.

Listen for the magic word, and submit it to your LetsTalkBitcoin.com account to claim your share of the weekly distribution of LTBcoin. The magic word must be submitted within four days of this episode's release.

There's another part of this show, but you'll just have to listen to find out what that's about (you'll want to move quickly).

Music in this episode was created by me, or with friends and family. Ganesh Painting Company is the name of one of the jam bands I feature live recordings of regularly. Feel free to contact me if you want more info about any music you hear on the podcast.

On todays show I am thrilled to finally be interviewing Bitcoins and Gravys biggest fan, Adairia. Adairia is a modern day renaissance woman, a writer, an artist, and a veritable think tank of creative ideas. She talks to us about art and dance and music, the importance of community and how to be truly excellent to one another. Adairia shares with us her well thought out and extensive plans for an artist community, a sanctuary, a permaculture village called Creature Conduit Sanctuary. By living there and working there you earn the local currency called Circuitree. Join us in a future where artists, engineers and techies thrive together.

The latest book by financial crime journalist and fiction author Jeffrey Robinson is making its way around bitcoin missionaries, mercenaries and visionaries following its release last month.

BitCon: The Naked Truth About Bitcoin is a critical evaluation of the fantasy and fallacy of the dreamers and journalists that brought bitcoin to notoriety. Its reporting covers all manner of bitcoin debate – the currency, the commodity, the technology, the crime, the scandal, the business, the politics, the regulation, the economics – offering the bitcoin skeptics’ usual condemnations of the currency, but backed by numbers.